The requested equipment consists of a Beckman-Coulter Optima XPN-100 Biosafe ultracentrifuge, with a Type 70 Ti fixed angle rotor and a SW-60 Ti swinging bucket rotor. The instrument will be used by the following nine VA investigators and their labs: Nicholas Webster, Ph.D., Robert Terkeltaub, Ph.D., Sushil Mahata, Ph.D., Robert Parmer, M.D., Ru Bryan, Ph.D., John Guatelli, M.D., Nai-Wen Chi, M.D., Bruce Zuraw, M.D., Isabel Newton, M.D., Ph.D. The following five VA-Merit funded projects will benefit from the ultracentrifuge: VA Merit Review I01BX002709 (P.I. Webster) 10/01/15-09/30/19 ?SRSF3 Loss and Hepatocellular Carcinoma? VA Merit Review (P.I. Mahata) 10/01/17-09/30/21 ?Catestatin improves glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity in diet-induced obese mice? VA Merit I01BX002234 (P.I. Bryan) 10/1/14?9/30/18 ?AMPK as an Interventional Target to Suppress the Development of Osteoarthritis? VA Merit I01 BX001660-05A2 (P.I. Terkeltaub) 04/01/17-03/31/21 ?Innate inflammation in osteoarthritis? VA Merit I01 BX002026-01A1 (P.I. Parmer) 04/01/13-03/31/17 ?Cell surface plasminogen activation and hypertension? In addition, multiple other VA-based, NIH or DOD-funded projects will benefit from the ultracentrifuge.